CHAPTER 677: CHAPTER 612: HE STILL LOVES ME (3)

"Be good." A sly smile flickered at the corners of Su Haoyang’s mouth, so fleeting that the person in his arms couldn’t even notice.

The contract signing process was so smooth it bordered on eerie.

The next day, a manager from Splendid Culture came directly to the Su Family Villa with the contract.

The contract terms indeed looked enticing, with a basic share ratio slightly higher than Xingyue’s A-level contract, and the promised resources were quite attractive.

Under Mrs. Su’s "loving" gaze and Su Haoyang’s "encouraging" look, Xu Mengjie almost didn’t look closely at the lengthy supplementary terms and appendices—especially the details on "artist image cooperation," "priority of business activities," and "penalties"—before signing her name at the bottom as Party B.

The manager beamed as he put away the contract, exchanging a knowing glance with Mrs. Su.

After Xu Mengjie signed, an unusual feeling of relief washed over her.

It was as if by signing this contract, she had completely severed ties with the past and demonstrated her "value" and "determination" to the Su family.

She even began to look forward to the near-at-hand engagement ceremony, imagining herself in a gown, receiving blessings from friends and family in the glass greenhouse.

That night, Su Haoyang appeared particularly gentle and considerate, personally cooking dishes she liked, and after dinner, he accompanied her on a walk in the garden, sketching details of the engagement ceremony until late at night.

The ink on her signature seemed barely dry when Splendid Culture’s work schedule surged in like a tide.

Almost without giving her any time to breathe and adapt to her new identity, the manager had lined up a schedule so packed it was suffocating. From pre-dawn brand appearances and magazine shoots to late-night variety show recordings and commercial performances, her timetable was crammed to the brim, with scarcely a gap.

Sometimes she had to rush between three or four cities in a day, continuously moving between planes, nanny cars, and various work sites, making meals and sleep a luxury to be snatched at any available moment. The work wasn’t all glamorous; much of it was tedious and time-consuming appearances, promotions, and even social engagements for brand partners.

Her body and mind were under immense pressure, fatigue clinging like an inseparable dull pain, leaving dark shadows under her eyes, her delicate makeup unable to conceal her haggardness. Sometimes napping in between makeup sessions or dragging leaden legs back to the Su family during the late nights, she felt tired, so tired that even her bones ached.

Yet, every time this happened, Su Haoyang would conveniently appear, holding her and saying in a tone filled with both affection and pride, "Mengmeng, you’ve worked hard. The company values you so much, giving you so many resources, it shows our decision to sign was the right one! Once the engagement ceremony is over, your career will surely flourish!"

Mrs. Su often mentioned at the dinner table, with an ostensibly caring tone, "Splendid values Mengjie so much, the schedule is tight, but it’s all to quickly pave the way, after all, it’s worthwhile for young people to endure some hardship."

Wrapped in this dual "comfort," and thinking of the coming grand engagement, Xu Mengjie forcibly suppressed that feeling of exhaustion, even self-consoling: Yes, the company "values" me so much, giving me so much work, isn’t this proving the path paved by the Su family is right, proving my value? For Haoyang, for our future, what is this bit of tiredness?

She was immersed in a sweet fantasy of being "valued" and about to experience the pinnacle of her life, deliberately ignoring the greedy hunger for value extraction lurking behind the work intensity.

However, fate’s twists often arrive unexpectedly.

As the engagement approached, Xu Mengjie finally found some time amidst her hectic work to think about it—

In the dining room, Mrs. Su was sitting at the head of the table, leisurely having her exquisite breakfast. Her hair was immaculately groomed; she seemed particularly cheerful, even humming a tuneless melody. In front of her was a document, and as Xu Mengjie approached, she glimpsed Splendid Culture’s logo and a list of resources on it.

"Good morning, Auntie." Xu Mengjie greeted softly, "The day after tomorrow is the engagement, and I haven’t booked tickets for my parents yet."

Mrs. Su raised her head at the sound, and the smile on her face vanished instantly, as if shifting faces in Sichuan Opera: "Why would they come over?"

Her gaze towards Xu Mengjie no longer bore yesterday’s "loving" look, nor even the previous deliberate pretense of gentleness, only an utter indifference and... an undeniable trace of smugness and disdain.

Xu Mengjie froze on the spot: "The engagement, my parents... aren’t coming?"

"Engagement?" Mrs. Su finally raised her eyes again, as if she’d heard a ridiculously absurd joke, her lips curled into a thoroughly mocking arc, her eyes cold as a snake’s tongue, "What engagement? Miss Xu, are you talking in your sleep?"